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The College of St. John the Evangelist (St. John’s College), the University of Hong Kong, will hold the Shann Memorial Conference 2015, titled “China and Japan, 1895-2015: History of Rivalry, War, Peace and Hostility”, on June 27, 2015 (Saturday).

In the past few years, much attention has been paid to Sino-Japanese relation particularly after nation-wide anti-Japan demonstrations broke out in China and the Japanese government declared sovereignty over Diaoyu islands. At one point, the two countries were at the brink of war. In this context, this conference is a timely event to address the controversial issues of Sino-Japanese relations, from a local Hong Kong perspective.

This conference is aimed to add a new dimension to the history of the Sino-Japanese relation and to review the current situation of the Chinese policy on Japan and the Japanese policy on China, and the impact to the overall region of East Asia.

The relationship between East Asia's two giant powers, China and Japan, has always been and will always be crucial for understanding the development of Asia. The relationship has undergone considerable changes since the end of the Second World War but it is often fragmented into different disciplines or knowledge of specific incidents with this background. The relationship between China and Japan is complex and emotional. It contains aspects of rivalry and complementarity. Scholars in both China and Japan may still have difficulties in approaching the bilateral relationship in a non-prejudiced way. This is why St. John's College seeks to organise this cross-disciplinary international conference about Sino-Japanese relationship.

The topics for discussion include history of Sino-Japanese War and war tactics; territorial dispute between China and Japan; conception of history among China, Japan and Korea (including history text-books); Hong Kong-Japan relations in the 1950s Cold War context; Japanese banking in war-time China; how war issue affected the relations between China and Japan and the possibility of reconciliation.

The speakers are cutting-edge scholars of Sino-Japanese relations or China/Japan comparative studies. Participants include:  

1. Professor BU Ping, Research Fellow & former Director, Institute of Modern History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
2. Dr. HO Kwong Shing, Post-doctoral Fellow, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.
3. Dr. HE Wenkai, Associate Professor, Division of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology.
4. Professor Makoto KASUYA, Professor of Japanese Economic History, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
5. Dr. KWONG Chi Man, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Hong Kong Baptist University.
6. Dr. LEE Pui Tak, Honorary Associate Professor, Department of Japanese Studies, University of Hong Kong.
7. Professor LIN Man-houng, Research Fellow, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.
8. Dr. David MACRI, Senior Fellow of St. John’s College, University of Hong Kong.
9. Professor MURATA Yujiro, Director, Department of Area Studies, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, University of Tokyo.
10. Professor Hans van de VEN, Professor in Modern Chinese Studies; Fellow of St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge University.
11. Dr. Daqing YANG, Associate Professor of History & International Affairs; Director, Asian Studies Program, George Washington University.

Details of the conference:
Date: June 27, 2015 (Saturday)
Time: 9:00-18:30
Venue: Theatre A (CBA), Chow Yei Ching Bldg., University of Hong Kong (MTR
HKU Station, Exit A1, turn right, 2 minutes’ walk)
Please click here for the detailed programme.

Inquiry: Miss Li, St. John’s College, tel: 28177102